Religion is inseparable from politics, but the purpose of politics in Islam is not to enslave people under the name of religion.
Author: Farid Yunes, Retired Professor of Cultural Anthropology and Islamic Philosophy at the University of California, Member of the Sangar Advisory Board
Three months after the illegal rise to power of the Taliban*, political groups have not been able to find a principled way out of the impasse in Afghanistan.
The problems are:
First, the lack of understanding between political parties and groups;
Secondly, the lack of political thought for Afghanistan;
Thirdly, the formation of a competent group capable of representing Afghanistan abroad, which is connected with the first and second points.
There is still inaction and inactivity that prevent you from starting work. Afghans are very weak and lazy in making decisions, which is an extremely important element of modern political and social life. We still believe in office paper games to get work done and bureaucracy. While the experience of the advanced world shows that one person was able to achieve major social and political changes without the cooperation of others, paper games and bureaucracy.
Americans are at the forefront of this, and they have a famous saying that one man can make a difference. The story of Rosa Parks, a young black American woman, tells the story of a man who changed the American political and social world when she refused to give up her seat in a company car to a white man.
When this author opened the Family Dispute Resolution Office in the USA, no one cooperated with me, except for one, Ranajan Popala, with whom we worked together, and to this day, for twenty years, we have helped hundreds of families in the USA, Europe and Canada. For example, nikah - the wedding ceremony was held via Skype. In the ears of the children, the azan was pronounced over the phone (a ceremony when they give a name to newborns). A divorce case between the US, Germany and Canada was settled over the phone. Yes, one person can make a difference. Unfortunately, the social history of Afghanistan has been written less, and the author of these lines decided to write it, because it is important to know this for future generations.
Returning to the issue of Afghanistan, an elected council should be formed, and political groups should form a grand council.
The Council must select a three-person delegation to liaise with officials from around the world, including the United Nations. The council should have a clear agenda, such as building Afghanistan around citizenship and a federal political system. The international community must ensure women's rights, freedom of speech and expression, and the political participation of all sectors of society. Neighboring countries need to be given assurances that a lasting peace in Afghanistan is in the interests of all countries in the region. Finally, the United Nations should be asked to help hold general elections in Afghanistan and establish a government based on human rights, freedom of expression and equality of rights before the law.
Today there are many political parties, but they are scattered, and it is unity that will allow us to achieve our goal.
The political thought of Afghanistan should be Islamic, but based on the requirements and realities of modern times and a new vision of Islam. Religion is inseparable from politics, but the purpose of politics in Islam is not to enslave people under the name of religion. The purpose of politics in Islam is to ensure the security of the people, to create a strong economy and education, and not to impose religion on the people, such as forcing people to pray or fast. Even those who do not accept Islamic thought, deservedly have the right to participate in political processes.
* The organization is under UN sanctions or banned due to terrorist activities.
